A Character You Forgot About Is Returning to Game of Thrones

Forget that Rickon Stark was a character on Game of Thrones? Us too. Rickon has long lived on the “where the heck is that character” list along with Benjen Stark, Beric Dondarrion and Gendry. (Seriously, where is Gendry? He’s the rightful heir to the throne for goodness sake.)

But the baby of the Stark family is returning to the show, according to actress Maisie Williams.

The Game of Thrones cast is notoriously good at keeping spoilers from fans: For almost an entire year poor Kit Harington had to pretend he’d actually left the show. But during an interview with BBC Radio 1, a caller asked the actress who plays Arya whether we would be hearing from Rickon again this season. “Yes, maybe,” Williams tentatively replied. Later she clarified: “Yes, we will indeed… Oh no, I’m literally going to get off the air and someone’s going to email me!”

We last saw the youngest Stark child way back in season three when he fled a Theon-ruled Winterfell with Bran, Hodor and Osha. Bran instructed Rickon, his Wildling babysitter Osha and direwolf Shaggy Dog (yes, he really named a killer direwolf Shaggy Dog) to head for the Last Hearth, the seat of the House Umber, a family loyal to the Starks) in the North.

Now that Jon Snow is back, he’s going to need to battle the Boltons for the North. Rounding up all the Starks—he’s unlikely to reach Arya or Bran, but he may be able to find Sansa and Rickon—would not only protect them from the Boltons but would rally the families loyal to the Starks in their fight for Winterfell. As they say: The North remembers.

 

Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com.